Chinese security authorities are tracking down six North Korean soldiers who crossed the North Korea-China border to enter China earlier this week.
 
According to a number of sources familiar with North Korea affairs on Thursday, the six soldiers armed with guns, crossed the border late Tuesday night to the Changbai Korean Autonomous County in southern Jilin Province, China. The county is one of the two Korean autonomous areas in China.
 
Sources said that the soldiers are likely to have fled to escape their commanding officers’ beatings and punishments, though the exact reason why they ran away has yet to be confirmed.
 
The last time armed North Korean soldiers were known to have escaped their homeland to China was on July 28th of last year.